World champions Germany, who qualified to defend their crown in Russia by winning all 10 of their qualifiers and have been unbeaten in 15 matches in 2017, succeed Argentina and Belgium, who were ‘Team of the Year' in 2016 and 2015 respectively, according to FIFA.

Germany held on to the top spot in a largely unchanged ranking that reflects the fact that just 41 ‘A' internationals have been played since the previous edition and that few of those involved teams at the top end of the table.